1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to hitches used to join together multiple pieces of equipment, such as a plurality of rotary lawn mowers, so that they travel as a single unit.
2. Description of Prior Art
Three desirable features in a gang mower are: wider cutting swath, flexibility to follow the terrain, and maneuverability. A wider cutting swath reduces the time required to cut a given area making them desirable to maintain large lawns. Designs that include separate components that have the ability to move independently of each other result in a more even cut. The assembly should be easy to maneuver, in both forward and reverse, on turns, and in tight places. Prior art fails to successfully combine these three attributes in a single unit.
Several patents such as: U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,284 issued to Leon Paul Erdman on Sep. 28, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,748 issued to Richard H. Schmidt on Dec. 20 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 7,287,363 issued to David Lawrence Phillips on Oct. 30, 2007; require special components. My invention can utilize commercially available off-the-shelf components. These prior art designs are meant to travel in only one direction while my invention performs well in either direction. The towed mowers in U.S. Pat. No. 3,608,284 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,748 are designed to be pulled.
Several patents such as: U.S. Pat. No. 3,514,126 issued to William H. Fuss May 26, 1970; U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,960 issued to Raymond M. Carson on Mar. 21, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,082 issued to Joe D. Conner on Oct. 31, 1978; U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,625 issued to John B. Blackwell on Jan. 20, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,580 issued to Charles C. Ryan on May 17, 1988; U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,565 issued to Frederick Smith on Jun. 13, 1995; U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,036 issued to Easley, Jr.; J. Alexander on Mar. 25, 2008; have towed mowers that are susceptible to jackknifing when traveling in reverse.
Several patents such as: U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,259 issued to Wayne Scott on Mar. 28, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,810 issued to Donald G. Gordy on Oct. 3, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,485 issued to Donald G. Gordy on Jan. 30, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,020 issued to Lawrence A. Godwin Dec. 22, 1998; have a group of towed mowers that is susceptible to jackknifing when traveling in reverse. Furthermore, each individual mower in the groups is susceptible to jackknifing when traveling in reverse.
Several patents such as: U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,500 issued to Marnie C. Averitt on Sep. 11, 1973 (preferred embodiment); U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,834 issued to George E. Kovacs on Sep. 3, 1974; have a group of mowers that is susceptible to jackknifing when traveling in reverse.